Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He began his career as a child and starred in the PBS educational series The Voyage of the Mimi in 1984, before a second run in 1988. He later appeared in the independent coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993) and various Kevin Smith films, including Chasing Amy (1997) and Dogma (1999). Affleck gained wider recognition when he and childhood friend Matt Damon won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Good Will Hunting (1997), which they also starred in. He then established himself as a leading man in studio films, including the disaster drama Armageddon ''(1998), the romantic comedy ''Forces of Nature (1999), the war drama Pearl Harbor (2001), and the spy thriller The Sum of All Fears (2002). After a career downturn, during which he appeared in Daredevil and Gigli (both 2003), Affleck received a Golden Globenomination for his performance in the noir biopic Hollywoodland (2006). His directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007), which he also co-wrote, was well received. He then directed, co-wrote, and starred in the crime drama The Town (2010). For the political thriller Argo (2012), which he directed, co-produced, and starred in, Affleck won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Director, and the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Academy Award for Best Picture. He starred in the psychological thriller Gone Girl in 2014. In 2016, Affleck began playing Batman in the DC Extended Universe, starred in the action thriller The Accountant, and directed, wrote and acted in the gangster drama Live by Night. Affleck is the co-founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a grantmaking and advocacy-based nonprofit organization. He is also a stalwart member of the Democratic Party. Affleck and Damon are co-owners of the production company Pearl Street Films. His younger brother is actor Casey Affleck, with whom he has worked on several films, including Good Will Hunting''and ''Gone Baby Gone. Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner in 2005; they separated in 2015 and divorced in 2018. They have three children together. Personal life Relationships and family Affleck began dating actress Gwyneth Paltrow in October 1997 after meeting at a Miramax dinner, and they later worked together on Shakespeare in Love (1998). Although they first broke up in January 1999, months later, Paltrow persuaded Affleck to co-star with her in Bounce (2000) and they soon resumed their relationship. They separated again in October 2000. In a 2015 interview, Paltrow said she and Affleck remain friends. Affleck had an 18-month relationship with actress/singer Jennifer Lopez from 2002 to 2004. They began dating in July 2002, after meeting on the set of Gigli (2003), and later worked together on the "Jenny from the Block" music video and Jersey Girl (2004). Their relationship received extensive media coverage. They became engaged in November 2002, but their planned wedding on September 14, 2003, was postponed with four days' notice because of "excessive media attention". They broke up in January 2004. Lopez later described the split as "my first real heartbreak" and attributed it in part to Affleck's discomfort with the media scrutiny. In 2013, Affleck said he and Lopez occasionally "touch base". Affleck began dating actress Jennifer Garner in mid-2004, having established a friendship on the sets of Pearl Harbor (2001) and Daredevil (2003). They were married on June 29, 2005, in a private Turks and Caicos ceremony. Victor Garber, who officiated the ceremony, and his partner, Rainer Andreesen, were the only guests. They announced their separation in June 2015. They jointly filed for divorce in April 2017 and it was finalized in October 2018. Affleck and Garner have three children together: daughters Violet Anne (b. December 2005), Seraphina "Sera" Rose Elizabeth (b. January 2009), and son Samuel "Sam" Garner (b. February 2012). In their divorce filings, Affleck and Garner sought joint physical and legal custody of their children. While Affleck believes paparazzi attention is "part of the deal" of stardom, he has spoken out against paparazzi interest in his children. He has called for legislation to require paparazzi to maintain a certain distance from children and to blur their faces in published photos. Affleck dated television producer Lindsay Shookus from mid-2017 to mid-2018. Filmography External links * Ben Affleck on IMDb Category:Ben Affleck Category:1972 births Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Activists from California Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American humanitarians Category:American child actors Category:American male screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American poker players Category:American political activists Category:Television producers from California Category:American United Methodists Category:Best Director BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Category:Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Category:Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni Category:Directors Guild of America Award winners Category:English-language film directors Category:Film directors from California Category:Film directors from Massachusetts Category:Film producers from California Category:Golden Globe Award-winning producers Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Male actors from Berkeley, California Category:Male actors from Boston Category:Male actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts Category:Male actors of German descent Category:Occidental College alumni Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Greater Boston Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Category:University of Vermont alumni Category:Volpi Cup winners Category:Writers from Massachusetts Category:Screenwriters from California Category:Screenwriters from Massachusetts